Cartridge holding device



June 28, 1938. w. COOPER CARTRIDGE HOLDING DEVICE Filed Sept. 24, 1936 Z, W 6 0 er Patented June 28, 1938 UNITED STATES FATE T FQE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for carrying rifle or pistol cartridges, and pertains particularly to such a device which is designed to be attached to the body.

At the present time it is the practice among policemen, hunters, or other persons who carry firearms, to provide a waist belt with a series of vertical loops in each of which a cartridge is frictionally held. 'When the wearer has used all of the cartridges in his firearm, it is then necessary for him, to remove those in his belt one at a time for re-loading the firearm. This is awkward and also time-consuming, as it is necessary that several movements of the hand he made.

The present invention has for its primary object to provide a holder which is adapted to be attached to a waist belt, which will carry the proper number of cartridges for a complete loading of a rifle or revolver in such manner that the entire group or loading may be taken into the hand at onetime, thus requiring only one movement of the hand to the waist belt to remove enough cartridges for loading the firearm.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above described character which may be easily pressed from a single body of steel or other suitable metal so that it may be economically produced.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description'taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the device embodying the invention, a portion thereof being in section.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section of the lower part of a modified form of the invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the numeral I generally designates a cartridge holder constructed in accordance with the present invention. This holder is designed to be used with others of the same construction so that a group of them may be mounted in side-by-side relation upon a waist belt, thus providing the wearer with as many complete charges or loadings of the firearm as may be desired.

The device comprises a pressed metal body having the back wall 2, longitudinal edge walls 3, and inwardly directed front wall flanges 4 which are in edge-to-edge spaced relation, thus leaving a central longitudinal opening 5 for the passage 5 longitudinally through the carrier of the thumb when a group of cartridges is being removed.

The interior width of the holder from one edge wall 3 to the other is slightly greater than the length of the cartridges which the holder is to carry and the depth from the flanges 4 to the rear wall 2 is only slightly greater than the diameter of the cartridges so that the latter will lie snugly in the holder one upon the other. The top and bottom ends of the holder are open, as shown, and the lower edge of the back wall 2 is provided with the upwardly extending slits 6 and the portion of the material of the back wall lying between these slits is then pressed forwardly, as illustrated, to form the relatively wide tongue I which constitutes a resilient retaining means for the cartridges. As will "be readily apparent the lower one of the group of cartridges lies upon the tongue 1 and the tongue supports the entire weight of this and the other overlying cartridges.

The adjacent top edge of the back wall 2 has pressed inwardly therefrom the narrow resilient retaining tongue 8. This tongue merely serves as a means of preventing the accidental removal of the cartridges through the top of the carrier and is of the proper resiliency to permit the easy introduction of the cartridges through the top of the carrier when the latter is being loaded.

Intermediate its ends the back wall 2 is provided with the spaced parallel slits 9 and the 3 portion of the wall material lying between these slits is pressed outwardly to form the carrying strap Ill. This strap is here illustrated as eX- tending transversely of the carrier and as thus formed it is intended to have associated with it the vertical belt loop I I through which the carrying waist belt is passed. It will, of course, be obvious that the strap Ill may be pressed vertically instead of transversely so that the carrying belt can be threaded through the strap and the loop H eliminated.

It will also be obvious that if desired as a matter of convenience, the carrier may have the waist belt pass thru the transverse strap l0 so that the carrier will be disposed horizontally at the side instead of vertically.

In Fig. 3 there is shown a slightly modified form of the invention. In the structure previously described only a single retaining tongue 1 is shown. This is intended for use by itself where the carrier may be made of spring steel, in which case the tongue I will have sufficient strength to properly carry the cartridges resting thereon. However, if it is desired to form the carrier of lighter metal, it is desirable that additional supporting means be provided. In Fig. 3 the carrier, which is indicated generally by the numeral I2, has the lower edge of the back wall l3 provided with the inpressed supporting tongue I4, and in addition the front wall flanges one of which is shown and indicated by the numeral I5, have their lower end edges provided with the inwardly extending tongues I B which are in opposed relation with the tongue l4 and co-act therewith for the support of the cartridges.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that by providing the waist belt with a number of the carriers herein described, there will be at hand complete groups of cartridges, each of which will form one loading for a rifle or revolver and each of these groups may be quickly removed from the carrier in one movement of the hand so that the user of the firearm to be re-loaded can get into his hand at one time the proper number of cartridges and thus be able to re-load the firearm more readily than would be the case if he were required to take the cartridges from a belt holder one at a time.

What is claimed, is:

1. A cartridge carrier, comprising an elongated receptacle having back and side edge walls and front wall flanges extending inwardly from the side edge walls and having their opposing edges spaced apart to provide a longitudinal opening, both ends of the receptacle being entirely open, a resilient cartridge retaining member carried by said back wall adjacent to and lying entirely inwardly of one end thereof and comprising a metailic tongue extending obliquely of the receptacle toward the remote end thereof and acting to permit introduction of cartridges but oppose their removal from the adjacent open end, a resilient tongue carried by the back wall at the said remote end and extending obliquely of the receptacle toward the adjacent end and adapted to yieldably retain a group of cartridges in the receptacle, whereby the application of pressure on the cartridges will effect the yielding of the tongue to permit the cartridges to be removed, means carried by the rear wall of the receptacle facilitating the vertical mounting of the same on a supporting body, and yieldable tongues carried by said flanges at their lower ends and extending obliquely thereof toward the first tongue and coacting therewith in supporting cartridges in the receptacle.

2. A cartridge carrier of the character described, comprising an elongated flat receptacle having back and side edge walls and front wall flanges extending inwardly from the side edge walls in spaced edge opposed relation providing a front longitudinally extending opening, the two ends of the receptacle being entirely open, said receptacle back wall having two spaced parallel cuts formed longitudinally therein from the end edge of the wall, a cartridge retaining tongue, constituting the material of the back wall lying between said cuts, and bent to extend inwardly and obliquely of the receptacle toward the adjaoent end thereof, said tongue being designed to yieldably retain cartridges in the receptacle, inwardly projecting yieldable tongue adjacent the other end of and struck in from the material of the receptacle and having an end directed obliquely of the receptacle toward the first mentioned end yieldable to facilitate the insertion of cartridges through the adjacent end, the extent of the area between the top of the first tongue and the free end of the last mentioned tongue being proportioned to receive a definite number of cartridges, whereby the end of the last tongue will engage the top of the top one of the cartridges, and means carried upon the outside of the back wall and supporting the receptacle upon a carrying body.

3. A cartridge carrier, comprising an elongated receptacle having back and side edge walls and front wall flanges extending inwardly from the side edge walls and having their opposing edges spaced apart to provide a longitudinal opening, both ends of the receptacle being entirely open, a resilient cartridge retaining member carried by said back .wall adjacent to and lying entirely inwardly of one end thereof, said retaining member consisting of a resilient metallic body projecting from the back wall toward said longitudinal opening and yieldable to facilitate introduction of cartridges but opposing their removal from the adjacent open end, a resilient tongue carried by the back wall at the end remote from said body and extending obliquely of the receptacle toward the adjacent end and adapted to yieldably retain a group of cartridges in the receptacle whereby the application of pressure on the cartridges will effect the yielding of the tongue to permit the cartridges to be removed, said tongue and member being disposed entirely between the ends of the holder, said holder when filled having the cartridges disposed transversely therein with the ends thereof engaged by said front wall flanges, the said retaining member being formed to engage the top of the topmost one of the cartridges, and means carried by the rear wall of the receptacle facilitating the vertical mounting of the same on a supporting body.

LEONARD W. COOPER. 

